On Sunday, Umphrey’s McGee closed out a three-night NYC weekend on their winter tour with an intimate show at Brooklyn Bowl. The jam veterans treated loyal fans to two sets filled with covers, rare originals and new music. The Sunday closer was a change of venue, but the intimate atmosphere of Brooklyn Bowl proved to be the key ingredient in a night where the entire band felt comfortable and dialed in to the show and their fans.
The first set began with “Looks” and continued with “The Fussy Dutchman” which included a “YYZ” tease that continued the themed tribute to Rush and the late Neil Peart for the entire weekend run. The first set concluded with a “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” that segued into the band’s original take on LCD Soundsystem’s “Tribulations,” debuted for the first time during the recent New Year’s run, before returning back to “Miss Tinkle’s Overture,” closing out a fantastic first set.
After a short set break, the band came back with the rare opener “Front Porch,” rewarding a die-hard fan who has been chasing that track for a few tours. The 30+ minute opening track was the highlight of the night, showing off the prowess of the veteran rockers. The set continued with fan favorites “40’s Theme,” “Gulf Stream,” and “The Floor.” But it was the debut performance of “Suxity,” a brand-new song, that closed out an amazing show and was proof that 2020 will be a good one for Umphrey’s Mcgee.
Set 1: Looks, The Fussy Dutchman, Maybe Someday > Got Your Milk (Right Here) > Walletsworth, Domino Theory, Miss Tinkle’s Overture -> Tribulations > Miss Tinkle’s Overture
Set 2: Front Porch > Resolution > Front Porch, 40’s Theme, Miami Virtue -> Out Of Order > Gulf Stream, The Floor
Antibalas will celebrate its 20th Anniversary with a return to their Williamsburg roots on their latest Daptone Records studio album, Fu Chronicles, due out on February 7, 2020. Today, Antibalas releases the single “Amenawon.”
A pre-gentrified Williamsburg serves as the backdrop for Fu Chronicles, a voyage back to the early days of when Antibalas and revered soul label, Daptone Records, were spawned out of lead singer Duke Amayo’s kung fu dojo. A senior master of the Jow Ga Kung Fu School of martial arts, Duke Amayo along with Antibalas’ founder/baritone saxophonist, Martín Perna, guide listeners through an epic journey where kung fu ingeniously intersects with Afrobeat on Fu Chronicles.
WNWNYC’s New Sounds exclusively premiered Antibalas’ latest from The opening track and first single off Fu Chronicles, “Amenawon,” Tuesday. It honors Amayo’s late mother, whose middle name was Amenawon. She is also depicted on the cover of Fu Chronicles standing as tall as the Statue Of Liberty, carrying a baby.
With the literal meaning translating to “may the water you will drink, not pass you by,” the composition speaks to rain water washing away pollution and the unveiling of government lies. Amayo pays homage to the Yoruba River goddess, Yomoja, whose healing powers can be accessed by invoking her name. Water is further a symbol in kung fu reflecting one’s ability to adapt to any situation.
At age 12 in Lagos, Nigeria, Amayo began his kung fu practice while simultaneously witnessing the spiritual leader Fela Kuti perform at his famous nightclubs the Afro-Spot and Afrika Shrine in Lagos. Living in the same neighborhood of the Afro-Spot and sneaking into the clubs to experience the force of nature that was Fela Kuti, a young Amayo was enlightened on his path destined for greatness in America.
Attracted to the cosmopolitan lifestyle of fashion, dance, martial arts, and music, Amayo moved beyond the highlights of his football career to launch a singular clothing brand and open a kung fu dojo in Williamsburg, dubbed the Afro-Spot Temple. Upon opening the dojo, Daptone co-founder Gabe Roth and Martín Perna inquired about classes, and soon invited Amayo to join Antibalas. The dojo became the headquarters for the band and label with Antibalas’ classic sophomore album, Talkatif (2002), being recorded onsite at the dojo’s recording studio. Coming full circle, Fu Chronicles sees Gabe Roth in the producer’s chair with Antibalas laying down the tracks at Daptone’s House of Soul in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Fu Chronicles transports listeners to where universal equilibrium and indefinite possibilities unite within a dream world of a child’s limitless mind. The transcendent long-form Afrobeat compositions decolonize our psyches through movements traversing with melodies to realign us with a purpose of finding balance in our coexistence. The fiery Antibalas ensemble — widely renowned as one of America’s fiercest live bands — along with an additional five musicians transform Amayo’s opus into hypnotic and invigorating compositions with singular rhythms of resistance.
Over the course of its lauded 20-year career, Antibalas has toured across four continents and produced eight studio albums, establishing them as the premier Afrobeat band in the West. In addition to their integral role as the backing band for the Tony Award-Winning Broadway musical “Fela,” Antibalas has served as the house band for several star-studded tribute shows at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater paying tribute to the music of Aretha Franklin, David Byrne, Paul Simon, and Billie Holiday.
ANTIBALAS – WINTER & SPRING 2020 TOUR DATES
Tuesday, February 11 — The Siren — San Luis Obispo, CA
Wednesday, February 12 — Moe’s Alley — Santa Cruz, CA
Thursday, February 13 — The Regent — Los Angeles, CA
Friday, February 14 — The Independent — San Francisco, CA
Saturday, February 15 — The New Parish — Oakland, CA
Sunday, February 16 — The Independent — San Francisco, CA
Thursday, February 20 — Neptune Theatre — Seattle, WA
Friday, February 21 — Rickshaw Theater — Vancouver, BC
Saturday, February 22 — PDX Jazz — Portland, OR
Sunday, February 23 — The Olympic — Boise, ID
Wednesday, February 26 — Knotty Pine — Victor ID
Thursday, February 27 — The Commonwealth Room — Salt Lake City, UT
Friday, February 28 — Washington’s — Fort Collins, CO
Thursday, March 19 — The Sinclair — Boston, MA
Friday, March 20 — Brooklyn Bowl — Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, March 21 — Brooklyn Bowl — Brooklyn, NY
Thursday, March 26 — Terminal West — Atlanta, GA
Friday, March 27 — The Grey Eagle — Asheville, NC
Saturday, March 28 — Cat’s Cradle — Carrboro, NC
Friday, April 3 — Sleeping Village — Chicago, IL
Saturday, April 4 — SPACE — Evanston, IL
Friday, April 10 — Lee’s Palace — Toronto, ON
Saturday, April 11 — Lee’s Palace — Toronto, ON
Friday, April 17 — Theatre of The Living Arts — Philadelphia, PA
Winter Jazz Fest continued at Brooklyn Bowl last night with the worldwide debut of The Bogie Band featuring Joe Russo. Opening for Joe Russo Presents Hooteroll? + Plus!, this “no strings attached” powerhouse of wind instruments and drums featured Stuart Bogie on tenor sax fronting a nine-piece band: one flute (sometimes three), two saxophones (tenor and baritone), two trombones, two trumpets, one tuba, one percussion, and one octo-Russo on drums. One minute into the opening set, it became clearly evident that crossing the Verrazzano on a Sunday night after a long and exhausting weekend would be supremely worth it. Stuart Bogie has such an easy way about him, and he was perfectly comfortable on a stage he’s graced many times before, as this collection of Brooklyn’s finest musicians took the stage in front of an eager audience, both respectful and rabid in equal measure.
Just as I was starting to recognize this local all-star troupe of musicians from Antibalas (Jordan McLean), Rubblebucket (Adam Dotson), and Reverend Vince Anderson’s Love Choir (Smoota, real name Dave Smith), the band toyed with a seemingly appropriate take on the All in the Family theme song. Bogie jumped back and forth between tenor sax and flute, while also playing band director on more than one occasion, both with the crowd and his eponymous band. At one point, he addressed the crowd, “You got one part. It’s to say hey. We’re going to cultivate and nurture a collective force. It could prove useful for more than just this song,” as he coaxed the crowd to join in a deep and guttural heyyy in time with the song’s climax. During a few softer moments, Russo moved from his signature savagery on the drum kit to a xylophone of sorts, stainless steel rectangles on an egg crate, highlighting the beauty of the quieter and more delicate jams.
While this debut set was highly anticipated, I perhaps underestimated how hard the music would coax me to dance and sweat. Stuart Bogie is a musician who creates and takes risks, and this one paid off hand over fist. As the 45-minute set came to its unfortunate end, the musicians left the stage single file, in a slow march to Russo’s waning bell play. I’m very much looking forward to seeing more of The Bogie Band featuring Joe Russo, and feeling very grateful to have had the chance to write these words and cover this spectacular debut performance.
Check out Headrush, Pt. 1, a recently released single on spotify, with a full album coming soon.
Joe Russo Presents Hooteroll? + Plus!, exploring the works of Jerry Garcia, Howard Wales and others, was the featured set of this Winter Jazz Fest installment. Another all-star cast of musicians featuring Stuart Bogie (tenor sax), Erik Deutsch (keys), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar), Dave Harrington (bass), Kevin Kendrick (vibraphone), Jordan McLean (trumpet), and Joe Russo (drums) recreated Jerry Garcia’s 1971 Hooteroll? album. As Russo would later explain after one of the + Plus! selections, “We’re going to play the whole Hooteroll? record plus. This last song was the Pherboney Love Theme, the first track off my new record. We wanted to intersperse the record with songs that make sense.” Um, good choice, Joe!
Last night’s set, and the album upon which it was based, was a master class in guitar-shreddy acid jazz, cut with blues and highly danceable rock ‘n roll, all set to the tempo of Russo and Harrington’s world class rhythm section. Erik Deustch played the role of Howard Wales, Garcia’s partner and mentor of sorts on this storied album, as he graced the crowd with the gorgeous sounds of his vintage Fender Rhodes and Hammond B3. Goldberger melted faces, as he is wont to do, with a variety of stunning solo work on both the electric and acoustic guitars. Kevin Kendrick’s contributions on the vibraphone gave the music an ethereal feel, soft and beautiful. If music satisfied the sense of touch, then Kendrick’s contribution was swathed in velvet. Bogie and McLean’s horn play was the bacon on this jam sandwich, making everything better as it occasionally stole the spotlight. Speaking of spotlights, there were none. Everyone shone. Focus may have drifted from one musician to the next as subtle flourishes highlighted this or that musician, only to realize that the full band was firing on all cylinders at all times.
Dave Harrington. Just… WOW. I mean, he’s a guitar player, and a bass is technically a guitar, but he rarely, if ever, plays bass. Maybe it’s like his secret talent. In fact, I don’t know of the last time (which doesn’t mean it didn’t happen) since April of 2017, when this same ensemble recreated Hooteroll? in Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre. Wait, …, what?!?! Dave Harrington may have stolen the show if this wasn’t such a collective project. Tucked behind Russo, he seemed to be soloing all night, never playing the same riff, as his fingers ran up and down the bass with unthinkable speed and dexterity. My hips could barely keep up as my jaw hung open. What he did last night was something special; when this guy picks up a bass again, miss it at your own peril!
In addition to the awesome musicianship and shared love for Jerry Garcia and this incredible record, the level of trust in the room was a tangible phenomenon that was perhaps the defining factor that put last night’s show into the record books. Let’s remember that Russo, Kendrick, Deutsch and Goldberger all share history with Fat Mama. Harrington and Russo are regulars on the improvisational NYC circuit. Bogie and McLean both play in Antibalas. Bogie plays with JRAD from time to time. Everyone plays with everyone all over the local scene. The comfort and joy that these musicians shared was a joy to behold and manifested itself in every peak and, even more so, quiet valley. From the listener’s perspective, the crowd, too, displayed perfect trust, as we were patient, present, and secure in the knowledge that wherever the music took us is where we were supposed to be. And the band clearly enjoyed the crowd enjoying them, as the room’s energy was in a constant state of reciprocal motion.
A hundred minutes later, at the culmination of yet another monster jam, Russo just shrugged and gave The Bogie Band mates an “I think we’re done here look,” returning to thunderous applause for a fifteen-minute encore that would bring the show to the two-hour mark, capping off this all-too-rare project for the ages.
